Mental-pause

The dog looks at me hopefully. Trouble is, I can't remember if I fed him already. I have a clear memory of scooping the kibble, filling his bowl with water, and placing it on the kitchen floor, but was that last night? Yesterday morning? I've noticed he's gotten a little wider––someone recently called him ottoman-shaped, which I don't think is a compliment––and it could be because I've been feeding him too many times a day.

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These kinds of memory lapses have been increasing as I travel through perimenopause. I walk into a room and forget why I'm there, which happens all the time. I write down names and phone numbers but for the life of me can't recall who these people are nor why I should call. Last Sunday, I got mad at Steve when he mentioned he was going to a friend's, though he claims he told me several times. I have no recollection of said conversation and announced, quite huffily, that I was never informed. But was I?

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Our brains need estrogen, but as those levels decrease, are we doomed to live in a state of forgetfulness? No. According to Barbara Strauch, health and science editor of The New York Times. Many of the stereotypes of the aging brain are wrong. I heard Strauch on NPR recently talking about her new book, The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain, and she says our problem-solving ability is far better in midlife than it is in our 20s. Strauch also fielded a call about "the menopause brain" from a woman who said that during menopause she'd look at a lamp and forget the word for it. Been there. But while menopause is "an enormous bumpy road" memory-wise, according to Strauch, our adaptable brains function just as well — if not better — after menopause. Another benefit of the aging brain? Well-being peaks in later years. Now if I can only remember that.